For an ardent cricket aficionado, it is not pleasant to hear this. Yet one must gulp down the bitter truth in order to not get into a rowdy row because no matter how big a fan of the game, it is hard to dismiss that cricketers are not who they used to be and the game is played much like how people play games.
Whether it be Australia, England or India, cricketers these days enjoy a financial gain that few have seen in their time in the same profession. On that take, it gives them the freedom but also, the greed to surpass work ethics, moral standards and no longer have to live life vicariously. Instant stardom, celebrity status has blinded one too many an eye and there is, of course, the streak of a politician that is becoming ever more apt in this changing day and age.
India
One does not have to go too far to find see how true it is. The senior squad of the Indian cricket team is behaving more like ‘netas’ (politicians) who will go to any extent but will not relinquish their seat. In their own right, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman and Anil Kumble are all contemporary legends of the game. But nobody is going to dismiss the fact that there is a game of unequal equals being played even by the selection committee in omitting Sourav Ganguly out. The question then for a team that is gunning to be number one is: is one solid performance enough to claim that somebody deserves a longer ride but deny it to another? (of course it depends on what one would term ‘solid’ on the sordid tour to Sri Lanka)
If the Sri Lankan tour be the basis of selection, who deserves to be in the team besides Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh (the latter still pushing it a bit)? Undoubtedly both have had one game of wonder in which case - should the entire team be replaced with a new one? To mark one man from that tour to be axed in an important domestic fixture reeks of nepotism. This is not to say, Sourav Ganguly has done enough to warrant a place. But none of the other stars on that list looked like a ‘lambi race ka ghoda’(a horse for the longer course). Their performance did not convince anyone other than a novice to the game. Sure, one man is being excluded from this musical chairs of whom to retire first (no prizes for guessing, Tendulkar). It may be in keeping with the stature of the man and rightly so, but in the interests of a team game, one would have to impartially question what it does to a team when their star player frequently breaks down and yet his seat is always a last minute ‘will he –won’t he’ scenario while the poor chap (his replacement, of course) does not know if he is doing enough or not to stay in the final eleven. If one recalls, South Africa did that not so long ago with Allan Donald towards the end of his career and if the South African attack has been dubbed pedestrian at times, it would only have to be because of the injuries to their younger players and for the fact that there was never consistent grooming in place for the next in line. It has affected how South Africa slumped after making a dramatic return and gradually rising up the ranks. Now it’s an uphill.
Australia
The only fair way out – let Australia be the final destination. If Australia consider India the last frontier, let this be this final, one last lung burst effort if any of the five want to continue to play the game. Again the yardstick cannot be whether someone averaged fourteen on the previous tour and another fifteen and therefore, deserves a place. When they are becoming millionaires, should not the stakes in the accountability and consistency factor be higher?
There cannot be a number one team unless the ruler measures everyone equally. A zero tolerance policy is what Cricket Australia finds itself having to tow in order to keep the bar that high. Apart from the lapse when it shielded Mark Waugh and Shane Warne in the early nineties, Cricket Australia have followed the policy regimented to run the risk of not having a larger-than-life performer like Andrew Symonds for the tour to India. While Cricket Australia was forced to accord time to the bowler in distraught, Brett Lee, in the aftermath of his split from his wife Liz Kemp splashed across the news channels far and wide, they could have done without the tantrums that have been associated with Symonds.
India revisted
The ego needs to be tamed. The point could not have been more apt and it has allowed for success to get to the head of one too many cricketers. Yograj Singh can scream from the rooftops that his son, Yuvraj, will make amends for his supposed injustices. But the junior Singh has not really used his opportunities well apart from cozing up to a few Bollywood beauties and has had to watch a younger, brighter Mahendra Singh Dhoni to whiz past him in a career race. Time and age are catching up with Yuvraj and he may join the oldies in bidding adieus to the Tests.
It should be a wake up call for the likes of Harbhajan and Sreesanth who think they endear themselves to the limelight with their antics. Somebody ought to tell that Sreesanth is no longer the new boy in the class whose antics are funny. Instead it comes across as boorish and boring with repetition. Taking it for granted that he was waltz his way through drama time and after is treading on a fine line and even moon walking has not spared Michael Jackson ignominy in later life.
The saga continues in part II. Relish because it can only get murky!
Part Deux: Pampered and Spoilt: When Cricketers Become Politicians and Celebrities
For more related stories, catch them only Crickblog.com
Half Time Story - Young Guns Doing It Right –Yuvraj needs to Take the Cue!
Sachin, The Superstar; Don, the Legend?
Symonds: Getting into Hot Water for Cooling off!
Will the Seniors Pick Up the Cue?
